Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has hailed the impact of defender Virgil van Dijk since his arrival from Celtic last summer. Wholesale Nike Zoom . Van Dijk moved to St Marys on Deadline Day last September for a fee in the region of £11.5m and has put in a number of impressive performances for the club so far this season.The Holland international was an ever-present in Southamptons run of seven straight Premier League clean sheets earlier this year and has helped his side record the joint-third best defensive record in the top-flight alongside Arsenal and Watford, and only behind Tottenham and Manchester United. And Koeman insists his fellow countryman is crucial to Southampton as they battle to qualify for Europe. Van Dijk has built up an impressive partnership with Jose Fonte He is strong, hes fast and hes important in the way we like to build-up [from the back], Koeman said on Monday Night Football.He is good at short passing, he has a good long pass and he has got a good partnership with Jose Fonte and last Saturday he was good in tandem with Ryan Bertrand. He is strong, hes fast and hes important in the way we like to build-up [from the back]. Koeman on Van Dijk He is also a good header of the ball, has a good shot and is a good free-kick taker. Hes a very good centre-back.Despite Van Dijks form this season, Koeman revealed he did have doubts about signing his fellow countryman from Celtic. Van Dijks Champions League experience convinced Koeman to sign him My only worry with Virgil was that we signed him from Celtic in the Scottish league, Koeman added. Its different from the Premier League.It makes it a little more tricky but he had experience of playing against Barcelona in the Champions League, so in the end there was no doubt about it.Meanwhile, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher echoed Koemans praise of Van Dijk, claiming Southamptons defensive record is evidence of the Dutchmans growing influence. Jamie Carragher thinks Van Dijk has been outstanding for Siants so far this season Carragher said: Obviously I look at centre-backs in the league and I think he has been fantastic. The defensive record shows that. When he first came in I thought he was more interested in playing on the ball but hes been outstanding defensively. Also See: David targets Europa return Saints appeal Mane red card Koeman v Benitez Carragher on Benitez Nike Zoom Cheap . - Robert Griffin III has a sprained throwing shoulder that limited him in practice Wednesday as the Washington Redskins prepared for their season finale against the Dallas Cowboys. Nike Zoom For Sale . Alvarez hit his first career home run, pitched six innings and hurt his right hamstring while running the bases in the Miami Marlins 4-3 win over the Chicago Cubs. http://www.wholesalenikezoom.com/ . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Duck Calling With several marquee centres available via trade and expected to be available via free agency, the Anaheim Ducks could be primed to be big players in the coming days.HOUSTON -- Tim Visser scored a try in the 14th minute, and Scotland added a penalty try later in the first half in a 24-6 victory over the United States on Saturday night at BBVA Stadium. Scotlands Greg Laidlaw made one of two penalty kicks and all three conversions, and Stuart Hogg added a try in the second half. "The most important thing to come out of the game is that we did not get scored against," Laidlaw said. "That was very important. We are happy to get the win. We left a couple tries out there. We did our talking on the field, and we are pleased to get off to a good start on the tour." Chris Wyles connected on two of three penalty kicks for the Americans. "I think the game tonight never really picked up momentum, certainly not from our side, but I mean in general, there were many stop-starts there," U.S. coach Mike Tolkin said. "We needed to add more urgency to it. The first half we were too aggressive where we shouldnt have been and got stupid penalties. Early on we werent aggressive where we needed to be. Overall, we didnt do a good job of holding on to the ball." Scotland controlled the possession and kept the U.S. away from the try-zone for most of the match The match was the first for Vern Cotter as Scotlands coach. Cotter was pleased to see his team score several tries without giving up any. "We are happy to get a win in difficult conditions," Cotter said in reference to the temperatures in the 80s. "I thought we showed good struccture in the first part of the first half and gave ourselves a few opportunities to score a couple of tries. Nike Zoom Clearance. Our scrum got the better of their scrum, which gave us an area to get a good grip of the game and gave us points as well. I was pleased to see the opportunities we created." Visser put Scotland ahead 10-3 in the 14th minute, breaking free and scoring a try before Laidlaws conversion. After Visser dropped the ball twice close to the try-zone, Scotland was finally able to get in, scoring on a penalty try in the 32nd minute, and Laidlaw added the conversion to up Scotlands advantage to 17-3. After Laidlaw missed a penalty kick off the upright in the fourth minute, he connected on a penalty kick from inside the 22 metre line to give Scotland a 3-0 lead in the sixth minute. Wyles tied it at 3 with a penalty kick in the 11th minute, and he cut Scotlands lead to 17-6 with a penalty kick from outside the 22-meter line in the 51st minute, but that would be as close as the Eagles would get. "It was tough," U.S. captain Todd Clever said. "When we tried to put some things together in their territory, it just wasnt there." Scotland upped the lead to 24-6 in the 66th minute with Hogg breaking free along the left sideline and scoring a try and Laidlaw added the conversion. Clever had the Eagles best chance at scoring a try in the 34th minute, touching the line, but after being reviewed, Clever was ruled to have done a double move, and the try was negated. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '